Baramati Lok Sabha seat in Pune district is set to witness a Pawar vs Pawar battle. Sunetra Pawar, the wife of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has been nominated from NCP (Ajit Pawar) to contest the Baramati seat against Ajit's cousin, Supriya Sule.
Supriya is the sitting Lok Sabha MP and is the daughter of Sharad Pawar. Sule is the candidate of NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), from where Ajit Pawar is an MLA.
Sunetra Pawar's candidature was officially announced on March 30. Sunetra is the sister of Padamsinh Patil, who was once considered among Sharad Pawar's closest aides.
However, the relationship between Pawar and Patil started fading as there were allegations of corruption against the latter related to the Osmanabad District Central Co-operative Bank. The major factor that led to the end of the close bond was Patil's arrest by the CBI in 2009 in connection with the murder of Congress leader Pavanraje Nimbalkar and his driver.
Sunetra, the daughter-in-law, managed to stay out of politics for a long time to not get caught in the crosshairs of the Pawar battle. However, now the tables have turned as she is an MP candidate from Baramati.
On April 9, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar sought support for his wife Sunetra in the Lok Sabha polls. He told the Baramati voters that they had elected his uncle Sharad Pawar's daughter three times, but now they should elect his daughter-in-law.
Also watch: Ajit Pawar pits wife against estranged cousin Supriya Sule for Baramati Lok Sabha seat